Tim Allen, the beloved “Home Improvement” star and longtime conservative voice in Hollywood, opened his heart this week with a confession he says he could no longer keep inside. The 72-year-old actor revealed that he has finally forgiven the man responsible for killing his father in 1964, a decision sparked by the powerful display of grace shown by Erika Kirk at her late husband’s funeral.
More than 200,000 people gathered Sunday in Glendale, Arizona, to honor Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, after his tragic death earlier this month. The crowd included President Trump, family members, and countless young conservatives touched by Kirk’s leadership. But the most moving moment of the service came when his wife, Erika, stood before the audience and spoke words few could imagine uttering so soon after such a devastating loss: forgiveness.
“Our Savior said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they not know what they do.’ That young man … I forgive him,” Erika said, referencing Tyler Robinson, the 22-year-old charged with Charlie’s murder. “I forgive him because it was what Christ did, and it’s what Charlie would do.”
Her statement not only stunned the crowd, but it deeply moved Tim Allen, who took to X (formerly Twitter) shortly after the funeral. “When Erika Kirk spoke the words on the man who killed her husband — ‘That man … that young man … I forgive him’ — that moment deeply affected me,” Allen wrote. “I have struggled for over 60 years to forgive the man who killed my Dad. I will say those words now as I type: ‘I forgive the man who killed my father.’ Peace be with you all.”
Allen’s father, Gerald M. Dick, was killed instantly in 1964 when a drunk driver struck him. Tim was just 11 years old at the time, and he has openly admitted the pain shaped much of his early life. For him, Erika Kirk’s public act of grace was the breakthrough he needed to finally let go of that lifelong burden.
Meanwhile, Erika Kirk has made it clear she will not seek the death penalty for Robinson, despite prosecutors promising to pursue it. “I do not want that man’s blood on my ledger,” she explained, saying she wants her faith and her forgiveness to define her husband’s legacy.
In the wake of Charlie’s passing, Erika has stepped in as CEO of Turning Point USA, leading a movement with an $85 million budget and thousands of campus chapters. Her message of forgiveness, and now Tim Allen’s own, shows that even in grief, strength and grace can light the way forward.
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